Lacson, Sotto: ‘No inconsistency’ in supporting anti-terror law, opposing death penalty

Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said Monday there is no need to reconcile their support for the anti-terrorism law and their opposition to death penalty as these two are not related.

During a virtual press conference, Lacson said the public and media should carefully read the provisions of the anti-terror law and not listen to fake news as there are “exaggerated and highly politicized.”

He said that it is wrong to assume that mere accusations of terrorism are already subject to immediate arrest as rules of evidence still need to be followed, as well as the guidelines set by the Rule 113 of the Rules of Court.

“Ito ay isang black propaganda na by mere suspicion huhulihin? (Arresting someone due to mere suspicion is a black propaganda). There’s no such thing. We follow the Rules of Court pagdating sa warrantless arrest,” he said.

Rule 113 states that arrest without warrant is lawful when a person committed or is attempting to commit an offense, there is probable cause to believe that he or she committed it, or the person is an escaped prisoner.

“Wala namang problema doon sa anti-terror law, natabunan lang ito ng katakot-takot na propaganda galing doon sa mga nago-oppose. But you know, it’s a very good law, ito lang ‘yung batas na ‘yung safeguards [ay] napakatindi,” Lacson said.

(There’s no problem with the anti-terror law, it was just overshadowed by propaganda from those who oppose it. But it’s a very good law as it is the only one that imposes very strict safeguards.)

Due to this, Sotto said that their support for the anti-terror law does not overlap with their disfavor of death penalty as they are not connected.

“Wala ngang koneksyon ‘yon. Hindi ko alam baka ‘yung nakaisip no’n ay gusto lang ipilit na may koneksyon pero wala, hindi ko nakikita eh. Wala namang death penalty ‘yung anti-terror law,” he said.

(There’s no connection. Maybe the person who thought of that wants to force the connection, but I don’t really see any. There’s no death penalty in the anti-terror law.)

On November 4, both Lacson and Sotto said they are no longer supporting the reimposition of death penalty in the country as they realized that it is more important to save a person’s life than executing a convicted individual.

In 2020, Sotto said the revival of capital punishment would be among the priorities of the Senate. He said that he was only in favor of this if it would be limited to big-time drug traffickers.

According to him, this was the reason why they passed a Senate bill which establishes a national penitentiary for high-level drug traffickers because he believes that death penalty is “anti-poor” as drug lords have capacity to get good lawyers, unlike the less privileged.

The tandem emphasized that all legislators and law enforcers are subject to the proper implementation of any law, noting that the implementation of the anti-terror law should not be singled out. Lacson said that crafting it was a collegial decision of at least the overwhelming majority of the Senate and was not made by him alone.

“Every law that we pass, nasa implementation, at pwede namang parusahan ‘yung nagkakamali o nangaabuso sa pag-implement (Every law that we pass depends on the implementation and everyone who does wrong or abuses it could be punished). That’s a standard that we should follow,” Lacson said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the anti-terror bill into law on July 2 despite objections from various groups, including the United Nations human rights body and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.

Solicitor General Jose Calida, however, said that there are safeguards in the law to prevent abuse, such as a prohibition against torture or coercion during interrogation and upholding the constitutional rights of persons under custodial investigation.

Refining ‘bad’ cops

In relation to the recent death of ex-Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who killed his two neighbors in Tarlac last December 2020, Philippine National police (PNP) ex-chief and senatorial aspirant Guillermo Eleazar said the law enforcers should strengthen their internal discipline to avoid the same circumstance to happen.

“Minsan kasi eh ang mga pulis natin ay gumagawa ng kalokohan pero alam nila na pwedeng malusutan. Pero kung palalakasin natin ‘yung internal discipline like ‘yung function ng Internal Affairs Service (IAS), as well as ‘yung mismong implementasyon, edi mababawasan ‘yung problema na nangyari kagaya kay Nuezca,” he said.

(At times, the police make crazy things which they know they can get away with. But if we strengthen the internal discipline like the function of the IAS, as well as the implementation itself, we could reduce circumstances like the Nuezca incident.)

Eleazar added that there should be no padrino system in PNP to avoid producing cops such as Nuezca and the PNP should continue checking the mental, emotional, and physical state of the police personnel in service.

Nuezca’s death comes over three months after a Tarlac court found him guilty of murdering his neighbors, mother and son Sonia and Frank Anthony Gregorio, due to an altercation over a “boga” explosion and right of way.

The Paniqui, Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 106 sentenced Nuezca to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years in prison for each count of murder. Nuezca was also ordered to pay damages worth P952,560 to the Gregorio family. — RSJ, GMA News